6 Important Elements of a Digital Workplace | 2018

by Shivani Shelke

The business world is moving at an unprecedented rate by adopting the latest set of technology and enterprise grade tools.

The internet has completely changed the way we work. As the number of satellite offices and remote employees grow, organizations are recognizing the rising need for a digital workplace solution. Such a solution not only boosts speed and efficiency of employees but also helps to bring everything and everybody together in one central location which in turn amplifies the overall organizational productivity. A Digital workplace solution leverages technologies that allows your employees to accomplish their tasks in a timely manner.

Businesses should evaluate the needs of employees at all levels of the organization and thereafter deploy custom solutions such as Office 365 intranet solution to overcome the challenges. Building digital workplaces across these 6 dimensions can help you focus on functionality and create a flexible and highly functional business environment.

1. Knowledge and work product management

Knowledge is the lifeblood of every organization and it drives its growth and productivity. Efficient handling of resources and information is paramount for any business – whether small or large. A digital workplace offers a central location to store business information, work product and knowledge. From operational documents such as policies, employee handbooks and files to activity reports and HR forms, you can manage and co-author documents with just a few mouse clicks. And since knowledge is stored in the cloud it is accessible to the employees and is also secure.

2. Collaboration

Collaboration is the core of your digital workplace. A positive work environment and connectivity among employees remains crucial in the digital workplace. Corporate networks should be equipped with collaboration tools which help with knowledge sharing and make communication between users easy. In a virtual workplace, collaboration tools need to be precisely chosen depending on the needs of an organization. It allows the employees to manage documents, have conversations, share files and work together irrespective of time and distance.

Collaboration also promotes teamwork which is essential to productivity. It helps individuals share ideas and use their collective knowledge to solve problems, develop solutions, and do their best work. Considering this, a businesses must find a digital workplace solution that can help them integrate functionality tools, minimize IT setup and maintenance cost, and promote team communication etc.

3. Communication and community

Technology has empowered employees to communicate and collaborate freely across multiple devices. It saves time and encourages them to work constructively and rigorously. Thus, a digital workplace should be compatible with state-of-the art communication applications that can be accessed from anywhere and at any time.

Communication helps to create a healthy and collaborative environment in an organization. No matter from where the team members work, they can stay connected and have conversations through various channels. From task assignment, chat applications, editing and co-authoring documents, social media and tailor-made project sites, everything can be included within a digital workplace.

4. Social engagement

A well-informed and socially active employee can benefit the company in all respects. A study in MIT Sloan Management Review reported that employee engagement is directly associated with higher levels of profitability. So, the more an employee is engaged, the more productive he will be, and this will drive up profitability for the company.

When your staff members exchange ideas, share knowledge, reward each other, create their own profile and publish their content, they feel empowered, included, and part of the corporate culture. This drives up social engagement and you may find that your employees are as engaged in the digital workplace as they are on other social media platforms.

5. Security

The recent cyber-attack in UK infected millions of computer systems and demanded a ransom for unlocking it. Since cybercrime is increasing, it has become essential for companies to include powerful security features to protect their data.

A digital workplace should include strong security features to avoid data loss. Along with user authentication and the ability to set who will have access to the content, data security features should also include data loss prevention and disaster recovery strategies.

6. Support, flexibility and growth

Technology evolves and so do the needs of the organization. It is necessary to select a digital workplace that is flexible – one that can be scaled up and down according to the changing business needs, and also one which can integrate with the existing business applications such as Office 365, Google suite, ERP, CRM systems and basic widgets and processes. Integrations should also be possible with line-of-business applications as well as with older software which a company may not be ready to get rid of.

Support is an important consideration when an organization is deciding on a solution. Companies are always worried about the type and amount of support they will receive from their solution provider and some of them do not upgrade their systems and stay away from using new technology because of this fear, which is detrimental to their progress.

It is recommended to consider trustworthy service providers who can implement new functionality and customize the digital solution while integrating well with the existing solutions.

Conclusion

Whether it be a software development office or a manufacturing unit, workplaces are going digital. No matter where your employees are, make sure to provide them the right set of tools that work for them. Companies can create a prolific, social and highly functional business environment by choosing the right tools to build their digital workplace. These six features of a digital workplace can help organizations choose the right solution and increase productivity and boost employee efficiency.